Loyola screens documentary on feminism

As part of Women’s History Month, Loyola University Chicago hosted a screening of MISS Representation on Monday, a documentary on how young American girls are being conditioned to think their worth is in their beauty and sexuality.

The viewing of this film was in Crown Center at Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus.

“This isn’t new, women not being good enough the way they are,” Jane Fonda, an Academy Award winning actress, said in the documentary.

Feminine activists worry that the media is sending messages to young women that they should be subordinate to men, and let things stay that way.

“Our young girls hear all those comments about their looks and so little about their ability to lead,” said Jennifer Siebel the director and producer of the documentary. “They are handicapped with the notion that their value lies in their beauty.”

It is not only women concerned with this issue, men are passionate about this issue as well.

“I worry about young girls hearing the cruel judgements being said about Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton,” Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, said in the documentary.

The film went on to explain how women in power are measured by their looks rather than their minds, and criticized for working instead of staying at home.

“When I was running for office, I was asked the question what I would do with my children if I got elected,” Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State, said in the documentary. “A question a man running for office would never be asked.”

The documentary offered solutions to help women be represented respectfully on T.V. and in the office.

“The media can be an instrument of change,” Katie Couric, TV news anchor, said in the documentary. “It can awaken people and change minds.”

Around 30 people attended the viewing of the film, and only two were males.

“I thought it was articulate and inspirational,” said James Dunford, 22, a senior English major. “It tells us what we can practically do as college students.

The film received positive feedback from the audience.

“I walk away feeling empowered,” said Wendy Esparaza, 20, a junior journalism major. “It was very educational and supported its claims with facts.

Few of the viewers became riled up by the documentary.

“It’s B.S. how women are portrayed in media,” said Nia Lewis, 21, a senior political science major. “The film reiterated the ideas